My Dad and I made my instrument
called the "Coffee Can Banjo." First
my Dad and I went and found a piece
of wood for the neck of my banjo and
then I sanded the edges of the neck
and my Dad cut it. Second I found
the coffee can and my Dad cut holes
in the side of it where I stuck the
neck through the holes. Then I cut
the frets out for the neck of my
banjo then my Dad took a tool and
cut holes down in the neck where the
frets went and then I glued those
down. Then my Dad helped me spray
paint everything white becuase it
was hard. Then I painted the top of
my can. Then I did a little sanding
on the neck again. After that my
banjo dried and I was
done.
The sound of my banjo is
produced by strumming the
strings. If I want to change the
dynamics I use the biggest string
to get the loudest sound and the
second biggest string to get the
softest sound. I can change the
pitch of the sound by pushing the
strings down over the frets and
strumming the strings at the same
time.
I think the timbre of my banjo
sounds brassy. I know little about
the history of my banjo but I do
know it was brought here in the 17th
century on a slave ship from Africa
and I know it is used in lots of
country music.
